The Toymaker's Apprentice
Chapter Two
Emily tried not to shiver as the rain began to seep through the fabric of her dress, dampening her fur and hair. She'd set out nearly an hour ago now, with Olivia in tow, to find a famed detective who would hopefully be able to help them find the mouseling's father. After discovering the article, the older had wrapped the younger in the thickest coat she could find for the child. Then she'd dropped a hat on her head, wound a scarf round her neck and ushered her out the door, it was only at Olivia's protest that Emily grabbed a shawl for herself. Unsurprisingly, it was doing little to ward off the cold shower.
Still, Emily was resolute, and tugged the useless fabric closer to herself as she peered up at street signs. None of which read Baker Street she noted with a sinking feeling in her chest. In her short years here, she'd never been to Baker Street, she scarcely recalled ever hearing of it all, but she would find it. She had to.
"Are we almost there, Emily?" Olvia asked, and it was only then that Emily realized she'd stopped walking altogether.
"Um, not quite, dear." She turned to face the child, offering a smile as big as she could manage, which wasn't very big at all. "It's just hard to read the signs in all this rain." She spied an old boot out of the corner of her eye, and began leading her young charge toward it. "Let's just take a moment to let it pass okay?" She ushered her inside the footwear, sighing discretely in relief at its dryness. "Then we'll find our way."
An empty matchbox provided a convenient place to sit and rest a moment, and a moment was all it took for Olivia to grow weary eyed and drowsy. Emily looped an arm around her, pulling her close, so that the mouseling could make a pillow out of her skirt.
"Rest," she commanded her gently. "I'll wake you when the rain slows." A moment more and Olivia was sleeping soundly while Emily looked out at the rain. Emily was the oldest of five children, so to suddenly find herself caring for Olivia did not bother her. She'd spent many a rainy day at home just like this with one or all of her siblings before. She thought of those days with fondness, but there was no joy to be had in this moment.
What if she couldn't find this detective, or anyone, who could help bring Hiram home? What if they never found Hiram at all? What if they found him and he was-? Emily blinked as a warm wash of tears poured over her cheeks. What if she had to raise Olivia because Hiram was gone? She didn't want to see the child go through such pain, she'd already lost her mother, Emily wouldn't allow her to lose her father too.
That was something Emily had never had to face, the loss of a parent, and she hoped it would be years yet before she had to. She doubted she'd be able to recover.
"Are you alright, my dear?" A kindly aged voice inquired from the mouth of the boot. Emily's eyes snapped up to meet the stranger's, finding a worried looking gentleman peering in on her. Once he caught sight of her tear stained face, he came all the way inside, feeling into his jacket for a kerchief he kept there. "Come now, dry your eyes." He finally found the cloth and offered it to her.
"Thank you," Emily rasped, accepting the kerchief with shaking fingers. She slowed her breathing and wiped her eyes, just barely resisting the urge to blow her nose, before handing the cloth back to him.
"There now, that's better," the man said as he tucked the cloth away. "Now what seems to be the trouble? And where is your husband?"
"Um," she felt a little embarrassed despite herself. "I'm not married."
"Oh, I do apologize!" He hurried to say. "I just thought…" he glanced down at the still sleeping Olivia.
Emily rested a hand on the girl's back. "She's my employer's daughter," she explained as evenly as she could. "He's been kidnapped and I've been trying to find Basil of Baker Street." She pulled the article from her dress pocket and handed it to him to read. "Only, I seem to have gotten us lost."
"Let's see here…" He pulled a pair of glasses from his opposite pocket and began reading. "Famed detective solves baffling disappearance."
Emily watched him keenly as he read over the scrap of paper, subconsciously biting her lip in worry. She didn't know what to expect from this stranger, but he seemed kind, and she was hopeful that he would help.
"Well I don't know any Basil," he said at last, sending Emily's heart to the depths of her stomach. "But I do remember where Baker Street is," he winked in good humor. Emily beamed, already jostling Olivia to wake her. "We'll find this Basil chap together," he said as he reached for his umbrella.
"Thank you," Emily breathed, nearly sobbing with her relief. "Thank you so much, Mr.…?"
"David," he beamed while opening his umbrella. "Dr. David Q. Dawson, and I'm happy to help Miss…?"
"Emily, she supplied as she looped her arm through his, her opposite wrapped around Olivia's shoulders. "Emily Brisby."
"And I'm Olivia!" The mooseling chirped. She didn't entirely know what was going on, but from the grown up talk, she gathered that they were now on the way to Baker Street. She squeezed Emily's hand, earning the most genuine smile Olivia had seen since all this had started. Olivia was going to get her daddy back soon, she just knew it.